Working in a male-dominated industry has not always been easy for Mona Salem, but it has made her successes all the sweeter. The vice president and head of Middle East and North Africa (Mena) operations at RW Armstrong, a global architecture and engineering consultancy, speaks about why women do not tend to be attracted to the sector in which she works.
The American Chambers of Commerce Mena has named you "best woman in the corporate sector", and you were previously included among the 100 most powerful people in the industry by ConstructionWeek magazine. What do these kinds of awards mean to you?
To be honoured by the peers and folks in the industry that we respect means that I guess I am on the right track. From a company standpoint it helps me prove to the staff that if you work hard enough you can achieve what you want to achieve, in particular for our women engineers, it's nice that they see that they can be recognised in an industry that is predominantly male-dominated.
What attracted you to the industry in the first place?
My father. He was an engineer and I adored him, and I thought and still think he is the best person in the world. He passed away a few years ago. Ever since I was 2, when I saw him working, I was very fascinated by what he did. He always spoke to us - the children - as equals, and he would tell us what he was doing and I was interested in it. I knew then I always wanted to be an engineer.
Has being a woman been an obstacle to your progress in any way?
I never really looked at it that way. It made the challenge all the more interesting and the successes all the more sweeter. My entire career up until I came to the UAE was spent in the US. One of my first positions was I was the first woman to enter … [a] department that had been around for 50 years. I was a woman, the youngest and the first Arab engineer in that division. There were a lot of firsts. I think we taught each other a lot of things. Once we got to know each other I became part of the team. You just learn to focus on the results and focus on proving yourself. No one can argue with results.
Why do you think women are not much attracted to the industry?
Women tend to look at the construction industry and see that it does require a lot of hours. They are reluctant to take on a career like that because family is important. It is the fear of not being able to balance. But it is doable. With a good team in the office, a good team at home, lots of communication and understanding all around, it can be done.
* Gillian Duncan
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